Most local offenders too close to schools, parks

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OVERVIEW

Background: One of the aspects of Jessica’s Law, which California voters passed in 2006, limits where registered sex offenders can live.

What’s happening: The law is rarely enforced because of a legal challenge, funding shortages and its vague provisions. Meanwhile, at least 70 percent of offenders in San Diego County live in restricted areas.

What’s next: The California Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case challenging residency limits in February.

BEHIND THE STORY

For its analysis, the Watchdog Institute downloaded information on registered sex offenders in San Diego County from an online registry maintained by the California Attorney General’s Office. The registry displays full addresses only for the most serious offenders. An institute analysis of that information formed the basis of this report. While the registry is subject to change daily, the institute used the information on the Web site Nov. 17. The site is available at meganslaw.ca.gov/

Using geographic data provided by the San Diego city and county geographic information system, or SanGIS, and the San Diego Association of Governments, the institute mapped the addresses of registered offenders and drew 2,000-foot buffer zones around parks and schools to determine how many are violating the state’s residence restrictions.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

The Watchdog Institute is a nonprofit reporting unit based at San Diego State University. The institute was founded this fall to produce in-depth investigative reports based on government databases. These reports will be done in collaboration with media partners in San Diego and Imperial counties, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has made a substantial financial commitment to support the institute. The institute’s mission includes mentoring future professional journalists in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at SDSU.

PARTNERSHIP

The San Diego Union-Tribune and KGTV/Channel 10 began a partnership this month to cooperate on breaking-news coverage and information gathering, including sharing news content, photos and video, and periodically collaborating on projects.

More than 70 percent of registered sex offenders in San Diego County are violating a state law by living too close to schools and parks.

Jessica’s Law, which was approved by California voters in November 2006, toughened sanctions against sex offenders and bars them from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. In San Diego County, 1,266 of 1,731 offenders whose addresses are made public by the state live in those restricted zones, according to an analysis by the Watchdog Institute, a nonprofit investigative journalism unit based at San Diego State University.

That finding surprises virtually no one in law enforcement. They say the law is vague and has holes, making it nearly impossible to enforce.

For example, the law doesn’t specify whether residence restrictions apply to all convicted sex offenders or only to those who were convicted or paroled after it passed. There are no penalties for violating the restrictions.

“The initiative itself was so badly written, no one knows how retroactive it is,” said Tom Tobin, a clinical psychologist and member of the state Sex Offender Management Board, an advisory group that includes law enforcement and other professionals who deal with sex crimes.